soundcard or not?

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palmersutra25

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hey guys, so ive been making beats for about a year now on ableton. the stuff i do is kind of experimental hip hop kinda stuff id say. i was talking to a producer i know recently and asked him about a soundcard; at the moment im just using the one that came with my mac. he said that the mac's soundcard should be good enough, then a few days ago, another guy i know told me that to improve my mixes, i definitely need to invest in a soundcard. he told me that my tracks would definitely benefit from a better sounding mix. i have no problem with investing if it means that my tracks are going to sound better, because at the moment, they dont quite sound as refined as alot of the producers i listen to (dilla, flying lotus, madlib etc) and im not sure what im missing.

could anyone recommend a decent soundcard? one that isnt going to financially cripple me.

and will a soundcard make much of a difference to my tracks?

any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
no you don't get a soundcard .. you get an interface. There's tons of them at all price ranges. I don't record to 'puter but someone will be along probably to make some recomendations.
 
Agree with Bob, you need an audio interface not a sound card.

From my personal experience I highly recommend the m-audio fast track pro M-AUDIO - Fast Track Pro - 4 x 4 Mobile USB Audio/MIDI Interface with Preamps which you can buy now for us$179. This interface comes with Ableton Live Lite which is a great DAW.

Of course you need to know first what are you going to connect to see how many MIDI interfaces, how many mics, etc. For this, you need to make your inventory and then go on the manufacturer's web pages.

I have also heard nice comments about the Tascam US-144-MKII or US-600 or US-800

Have fun.
 
These guys ^^^ are right. You'll want to buy an audio interface!

Also, technically an AI is a soundcard. That's the tricky part. Most people think of that crappy piece of junk that comes with your computer when they think "sound card," but really "sound card" can apply to a vast range of devices. That's why I never say sound card :D

An AI will probably make a good difference to your track, as they are used because they present better audio fidelity! How many inputs do you need and what kind (MIDI/XLR/Line)?
 
thanks for replying guys. i actually dont need many imputs at all, as the majority of the music i do is all within ableton. i occasionally record guitar, but not very often.

will the AI improve my sound quality for mixing?

cheers :)
 
palmersutra25 said:
thanks for replying guys. i actually dont need many imputs at all, as the majority of the music i do is all within ableton. i occasionally record guitar, but not very often.

will the AI improve my sound quality for mixing?

cheers :)
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Depends on the mic(s) you plug into it ;)
It will improve the vocals or guitar you record into your mixes (lower noise floor). But it also depends on the mic.
But don't listen to me, I'l just a n00b :P
 
palmersutra25 said:
thanks for replying guys. i actually dont need many imputs at all, as the majority of the music i do is all within ableton. i occasionally record guitar, but not very often.

will the AI improve my sound quality for mixing?

cheers :)
Click to expand...
the general consensus is that built in computer soundcards are absolute, useless crap ... so yes, it will improve your sound
 
Guys, he's not recording anything from outside of his computer. He doesn't need inputs and isn't using mics.

What does a sound-card/interface have to do with the quality of his recordings?
 
RAMI said:
Guys, he's not recording anything from outside of his computer. He doesn't need inputs and isn't using mics.

What does a sound-card/interface have to do with the quality of his recordings?
Click to expand...
I don't record to a puter so I dunno but haven't I seen you guys repeatedly say that the sounds produced by a puter soundcard aren't very good?
 
Lt. Bob said:
I don't record to a puter so I dunno but haven't I seen you guys repeatedly say that the sounds produced by a puter soundcard aren't very good?
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You're right. But that's pertaining to recording instruments and mics into a sound-card/interface. OP is recording virtual instruments from within his computer. Sound-card might affect sound-quality for monitoring, but won't change the sounds actually being recorded.
 
RAMI said:
You're right. But that's pertaining to recording instruments and mics into a sound-card/interface. OP is recording virtual instruments from within his computer. Sound-card might affect sound-quality for monitoring, but won't change the sounds actually being recorded.
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ah ..... I see. Cool.
But in the mixing process it still won't affect anything? I guess it's time to learn this shit since, assuming I don't die soon (I'm old ya' know) .... eventually I'll likely move to 'puters.

So back OT ...... I can see that if it's all virtual instruments ...... and you mix it and burn a CD .... the quality of the soundcard won't have any impact BUT ..... couldn't poor soundcard quality affect how you mix it and thus, the final product?
 
Lt. Bob said:
.... couldn't poor soundcard quality affect how you mix it and thus, the final product?
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Definitely. It in-directly affects the final product because, while it doesn't change the sounds being recorded, it's affecting how you mix by not allowing you to hear things as they really are. Same thing a bad monitoring system does. Same thing a bad room does. As many of us have eventually learned, there can be many reasons why mixes aren't translating.
 
RAMI said:
Definitely. It in-directly affects the final product because, while it doesn't change the sounds being recorded, it's affecting how you mix by not allowing you to hear things as they really are. Same thing a bad monitoring system does. Same thing a bad room does. As many of us have eventually learned, there can be many reasons why mixes aren't translating.
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wouldn't that be improved by an interface?
I'm assuming, since I see so many people recording on puters, that the interface is also the source for their sounds.
So doesn't that mean that the OP should consider an interface? Even if it only has one input.
 
Lt. Bob said:
wouldn't that be improved by an interface?
I'm assuming, since I see so many people recording on puters, that the interface is also the source for their sounds.
So doesn't that mean that the OP should consider an interface? Even if it only has one input.
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I don't know the difference in price between a GOOD sound-card and a good interface, so I don't know. But if a good sound-card is much cheaper than an interface, and he doesn't need the extra features that the interface will give him, then I'm not sure he needs an interface. But what you're saying is right. A good interface should sound better than a stock sound-card.
 
RAMI said:
I don't know the difference in price between a GOOD sound-card and a good interface, so I don't know. But if a good sound-card is much cheaper than an interface, and he doesn't need the extra features that the interface will give him, then I'm not sure he needs an interface. But what you're saying is right. A good interface should sound better than a stock sound-card.
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gotcha .. thanks.
 
Lt. Bob said:
gotcha .. thanks.
Click to expand...

:cool:

I hope that ANY of what I'm saying is true. I don't record into my computer either, so I'm just parroting what I think I understand about sound-cards/interfaces from what I've read here.

There's a huge possibility that this is 2 pages of pure bullshit. Just sitting here. Fermenting. :eek:
 
RAMI said:
:cool:

I hope that ANY of what I'm saying is true. I don't record into my computer either, so I'm just parroting what I think I understand about sound-cards/interfaces from what I've read here.

There's a huge possibility that this is 2 pages of pure bullshit. Just sitting here. Fermenting. :eek:
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so what kinda rig do you record to?
Your tunages are always really good sounding.
 
RAMI said:
Thanx man.

I record into a TASCAM 2488, and then bring my tracks into my computer to mix in REAPER.
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so you use the 4288 as an interface when mixing? I mean, is that where you're getting your monitored sound for mixing or do you have a good soundcard in the 'puter for that?
 
Lt. Bob said:
so you use the 4288 as an interface when mixing? I mean, is that where you're getting your monitored sound for mixing or do you have a good soundcard in the 'puter for that?
Click to expand...

No, I do it in 2 steps. I record everything on to the 2488, while monitoring from the 2488. At that point, I'm not really doing any serious mixing.

Then, via USB, I transfer all my tracks into the computer. Sound-card doesn't affect anything during transfer because I'm not "recording" into the computer, I'm just transferring the files, just like I would if I used a disc instead of the USB. Once all my tracks are done and in the computer, I start mixing in REAPER.

I do have a decent sound-card in my computer, but I don't even remember what it is. I bought it for $200 about 5 years ago.
 
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